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Ideas for economical wine storage

Hi

Im buying more and more good californian wine and need to start some form of cellaring to keep it in good conidtion.

Ive looked at the wine coolers but a 170 bottle one runs like $2000 and i just dont have that sort of money at the moment, appearance is absolutly not a factor, I was wondering if some form of commercial wine cooler would be available ? failing that can you use just a normal fridge ?

Without trying to sound sarcastic, I manage my wine so that I drink it as I buy it with a small area in the cooler basement for some storage that gives me flexibility for a year to two of longer term storage. Storing can be expensive -- so I store it in my belly.

k.

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States...nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” -- Isaac Asimov

I've looked into, but not yet attempted, a DIY conversion of a standard refrigerator into one meant for wine. Temp control modification seems pretty straightforward (there are even devices for exactly this conversion) though the humidity control solutions I've seen have essentially been "Stick bowl of water in refrigerator. Fill every few days."

Maybe someone else has gone beyond researching and actually taken the plunge!

If you use the fridge JUST to store your wines and nothing else, it might JUST work. If there are other things in there, I don't think it's a good idea. What I did was to beg my chef to store it in his restaurant's cellar haha. Might work if your close friends with a restaurant chef/owner etc.

Storing in a refrigerator removes the humidity and may dry the cork. The cold temperature slows the aging of age worthy wines too much. Wine coolers are expensive because they keep the right humidity and temp.

Depending on where you live, storing in the basement that maintains close to a 65F and about 65% humidity should do fine. I have a very small wine cooler for my most expensive bottles but all the others have been in the basement for years with no problem. A member of my wine group with a 12,000+ cellar did fine with no special cooling system for over 10 years until he put in a few units just to be sure.

If you really need a system, I'd recommend converting a closet and putting in a free standing unit.

The best value wine cabinets by far are the Vintage Keeper units. I bought a great used 220-bottle unit for $400 off Craigslist. You just have to make sure the unit was well-maintained and the compressor is good. It has performed admirably for the past 6 years.

now, please correct me if I am wrong. But if your only concern is about the cork becoming dry why not just wax the top of the bottle beforehand? Does the wine need to be able to breathe through the cork?